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872 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



September 7, 1005. 



has something that is. going to last, and 

 look good for qutte'^ a " while, whereas 

 she can spend as much money for a bunch 

 of flowers which tomorrow is cast into 

 the ash barrel. So to maintain my lady 's 

 interest the chief consideration in the 

 selection of varieties should b3 their 

 standing qualities. This, combined with 

 gracefulness of frond and compactness 

 of habit, gives an ideal fern for the pur- 

 pose in hand. Stiff, heavy-leaved va- 

 rieties should be avoided. 



If I were to enumerate all the va- 

 rieties suitable for the purpose I have 

 no doubt they would fill a good-size 

 book. But 1 am sorry to say that the 

 varieties generally met with are not very 

 numierous; a few seem to be run on and 

 few , of the growers seem to make a 

 break to get away from the old rut. I 

 am sure it would pay the grower who 

 would have enterprise enough to keep 

 on procuring and trying varieties dif- 

 ferent from what are commonly used. 

 They need not be new varieties, for there 

 are hundreds of old ones to pick from 

 which are worthy of a trial. 



Larger Plants. 



About six months from time of sow- 

 ing is usually required to give useful 



ble, and if it is intended to grow them 

 into specimens they should be kept mov- 

 ing just as fast as possible, as the size 

 of plant does not depend so much on 

 age or size of crown as it does on length 

 of frond, and to procure this the chief 

 agencies are intensive culture and quick 

 growth. 



Most ferns can be materially assisted 

 by the application of liquid manures, 

 but these should not be applied unless 

 the pots are pretty well filled with roots; 

 otherwise the residue not utilized by the 

 plants would have a tendency to clog 

 the soil and cause sourness. 



Propagating by Division. 



Most ferns adapt themselves to prop- 

 agation by division, but this is a slow 

 method with some, and when they come 

 readily from spores need hardly be prac- 

 ticed. Some, however, notably the 

 nephrolepis, can be propagated very rap- 

 idly by offsets, and some, notably Adian- 

 tum Farleyense, can only be propagated 

 by divisions of the crown. This latter 

 variety is one of the most beautiful ferns 

 we have, though one that is rather dif- 

 ficult to grow. One of the chief causes 

 of failure with this variety is the lack 

 of heat in winter. It requires a tem- 



Edwin Lonsdale. 



size plants in a night temperature of 

 about 60 degrees and a day temperature 

 of 75 degrees. In stronger heat they 

 could be grown in shorter time, but it 

 does not pay to rush them, as they 

 would not be so compact and bushy and 

 would, of course, be much softer. 



Successional batches should be sown 

 as required, as they soon become too 

 large, and if confined for any length of 

 time in small pots they assume a stunted 

 and sickly appearance. 



Where larger plants are wanted they 

 should be kept moved up as they need 

 it and receive as little check as possi- 



perature of not less than 65 degrees to 

 keep it growing even slowly. If sub- 

 jected to a lower temperature than this 

 the plants become stunted and it is next 

 to impossible to get them back into a 

 healthy condition, even with the higher 

 temperature of summer, without break- 

 ing them up and beginning all over 

 again. 



Shade and Moisture. 



All ferns require shade trf a greater 

 or less extent, but it is a very common 

 mistake to have the shade too heavy. 

 This causes drawn up, weakly growth, 



and in a good many cases spoils the 

 individual character of the fronds from 

 lack of proper development. All that is 

 necessary in applying shade is to pre- 

 vent the strong sunlight from burning 

 or eating the color out of the fronds. 

 Further than to prevent this, shade is 

 unnecessary. 



Fresh air also plays an important part 

 in maintaining the health of the plants. 

 Although a dry atmosphere is not con- 

 genial to their well-being, jievertheless 

 fresh air is necessary to inaintain the 

 strength of growth. When fire heat is 

 being used more atmospheric moisture 

 is needed and can safely be given by 

 frequent sprinkling of the pathways and 

 under the benches of the house. But, 

 as soon as firing is discontinued, the 

 atmosphere of the house naturally be- 

 comes charged with moisture, and it is 

 then necessary to keep air on both night 

 and day to prevent condensation. When 

 condensed moisture settles on the fronds 

 it is sure to cause damping, especially 

 to the younger and more tender ones, 

 and when damaged by damp in their 

 earlier stages they never develop their 

 true character. 



Hardy Ferns. 



In conclusion I would like to say a 

 few words in favor of the more general 

 use of hardy ferns for beautifying the 

 surroundings of the home. These adapt 

 themselves to filling corners where few 

 other plants will thrive, and we have a 

 great many beautiful native varieties, 

 besides a number of foreign varieties, 

 that are quite hardy in this latitude. 

 They will grow and thrive in any shady 

 corner as long as they are not under 

 tne dense shade and drip of trees. Many 

 a corner that is now an eye-sore could 

 be made beautiful by the erection of a 

 rockery and the judicious use of hardy 

 ferns. The expense would be a small 

 item, as stones are not hard to procure 

 and the rougher they are thrown to- 

 gether the better they will look. The 

 crevices can be filled in with any good 

 ordinary soil and plants gathered from 

 the woods to start with, though a knowl- 

 edge of the growth of the different va- 

 rieties is necessary to know where to 

 plant them so that the larger growers 

 won't hide the smaller. Once the rock- 

 ery is established the collection of finer 

 varieties can begin. When something 

 more choice is procured some of the 

 commoner ones can be pulled out and 

 then by degrees a collection of the 

 choicest kinds can be got together. 



GIRARD COLLEGE. 



The most progressive paper takes 

 pleasure in giving its readers a brief out- 

 line of the planting at Girard College 

 this season, under the management of 

 Edwin Lonsdale. The principal beds 

 lie between the south gate and the main 

 building. They were gay with tulips, 

 pansies and daisies early in April and 

 May. These were gradually replaced by 

 geraniums, coleus, alternantheras and 

 crotons until the work was completed by 

 the middle of June. The effect is now 

 very fine. 



The beds are laid out on turf, a broad 

 central walk dividing them into two 

 practically corresponding halves. To the 

 right and left of this dividing walk 

 stretch long beds of La Favorite gera- 

 niums, white, edged with Achyranthes 

 Lindenii and an artemisia resembling 

 stellaria, the idea being to bring out the 

 college colors of garnet and steel. These 



